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Updated: 21 Apr 2020 7:53 pm
Worth the while reads for those itching for some futuristic goodness
BY: Khysir Carter
What Are The Best Cyberpunk Books To Read Today?
There are 156 days until the release of Cyberpunk 2077. Which leaves us with a lot of time to keep up the excitement. And with that time, I've been doing my research on everything within the cyberpunk aesthetic, including these books and novels I'm sharing with you today.
Even if you aren't waiting for CD Project Red's upcoming Cyberpunk 2077, and just want some futuristic, dystopian glory to gaze your eyes upon, this article is very much still for you.
10) Neuromancer
Until he was betrayed and impaired by his former employees, Henry Dorsett was the best data-thief in the business. But, when a mysterious employer hires him to take down a powerful artificial intelligence, he throttles back into the game to redeem himself. And goes through hell to save earth from the grip of a sinister business clan.
What makes Neuromancer great?
- Winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Philip K. Dick awards
- Creates a wonderful virtual world, much like the simulation The Matrix and Tron
- Inspired by the movie Bladerunner, yet still is recognized greatly on its own
Neuromancer details:
https://www.amazon.com/Neuromancer-William-Gibson/dp/0441569595
9) Snow Crash
Hiro Protagonist lives a double life. He’s primarily a delivery guy for Uncle Enzo’s Cosa Nostra pizza shop, but in the MetaVerse, he’s a warrior prince who leads a battle against a hacker-killing computer virus. He races against time to defeat this foe, and to stop save the simulated world from its end; the infocalypse.
What makes Snow Crash a sci-fi classic?
Tasteful nerdiness and geek humor
An unexpected take on linguistics and a mash of Anarcho-capitalism
Nominated for a Prometheus Award
Snowcrash details:
8) Count Zero
Belonging to the “Sprawl Trilogy”, Count Zero takes place in the same world as Neuromancer. Willam Gibson brilliantly ties together three different story threads: A mercenary named Turner who specializes in defecting technologists from their corporations, a punk kid named Bobby Newmak who dreams of being a cyberspace cowboy with the handle “Count Zero”, and the story of an art dealer who is hired by a collector to track down a creator of a series of art pieces. Each story has its own twists and turns, and offers nuanced takes on present issues in the world we live in now, like classism and the impacts of technology on our society.
What’s great about Count Zero?
Successfully continues to flesh out the world of the Sprawl trilogy
Leaves space for interpretation. Not at all baby's novel.
Nominated for the Locus and British Science Fiction Awards in 1987
Count Zero details:
7) Mona Lisa Overdrive
Concluding the Sprawl trilogy, Mona Lisa Overdrive takes place 8 years after the latter events. One of the characters the story lays its focus on is Mona, a young girl with a shady past. Her world begins to spiral, as it collides with that of the famous Sense/Net star, Angie, who has the ability to tap into Cyberspace without the use of a computer. Both girls are at the center of a kidnapping plot, masterminded by a mysterious entity who has big plans for them; and for the world.
Out of the many great things about this book, here’s three big ones:
Elegantly concludes the Sprawl trilogy
Acclaimed as Gibson’s best story to date
Holds up Gibson’s fame by bringing home more award nominations
Mona Lisa Overdrive details:
6) Mirrorshades
From the hands of some of the best cyberpunk story writers (Bruce Sterling, William Gibson, Greg Bear, Pat Cadigan and more), comes the magnificent cyberpunk anthology book known as Mirrorshades! With stories of high-tech societies and low-life hustlers, Mirrorshades offers as much tasty cyber as fans of the sub-genre can eat up. For a small taste, One of the anthology’s best short stories is “Snake Eyes”, which is about a soldier who was cybernetically altered to fight in a war that never began. When looking for work, he stumbles upon a job that offers him more than he asked for, and way more of what he didn’t.
“But what makes this anthology series worth my while,” you ask? Well, here’s a few reasons:
Features short stories from some of the world’s most renown cyberpunk writers
One of the most recommended cyberpunk books, to this day
Features William Gibson’s first published piece, The Gernsback Continuum
Mirrorshades details:
https://www.amazon.com/Mirrorshades-Cyberpunk-Anthology-Greg-Bear/dp/0441533825
5) Transmetropolitan
While it never gives a specific year, Transmetropolitan’s world shows that the furture will be as dark as you think it could be. The series lays its focus on the life of renegade journalist Spider Jerusalem, whose much like Hunter S. Thompson in terms of style. On his adventures, he comments on issues such as transhumanism, poverty and drugs manufactured by universal matter replicators. Oh yeah, these books feature LOTS of drugs; per that Hunter S. Thompson style.
Transmetroplitan has more to it than being seen as a cult classic. Here’s more goodies:
Featured on The Verge’s “The Classics” segment
One of the most focused and fascinating comic series of all time
Was originally apart of DC Comics until their Helix Imprint was shut down
Transmetropolitan details:
https://www.amazon.com/Transmetropolitan-Vol-1-Back-Street/dp/1401220843
4) Fluorescent Black
The year is 2085. Setting: a classist Singapore, dividing the rich and wealthy from the poor and dying using a heavily fortified border. Nina, who’s a part of the superior class, and a test model for cutting-edge genetic tech, is kidnapped during a bio-terrorist attack by a group of street thugs. But it isn’t until the superior corporations tighten their dragnet, that the thugs discover who exactly they captured…. And just how she beneficial she really is to them.
Not convinced?
A griping, anthropomorphic story
Artwork aids the stories oppressive, nightmarish themes
A sort of similar, yet still a great take on classism
Fluorescent Black details:
https://www.amazon.com/Fluorescent-Black-M-F-Wilson/dp/1935351303
3) Metrophage
Johnny is a drug dealer living in a futuristic, anger and disease ridden Los Angeles. His life was all about himself, until a bizarre plague hit L.A, and left very fatal wounds to its denizens. And now, he must risk everything to find a cure; even himself.
But,wait! There’s more!
The world of Metrophage is an ultraviolent one, heavily filled with drugs, pleasure and virtual reality
Interesting governmental climate
Features a melting pot of cultures and people, like oil cartels and japanese yakuzas
Metrophage details:
https://www.amazon.com/Metrophage-Novel-Richard-Kadrey/dp/0062334484
2) Ronin
Before he gave the world Jewels like “THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS” and “SIN CITY”, Frank Miller released his first series, Ronin. Ronin follows a dishonored Samurai, from the 13th century, who is brought to a futuristic, cyberpunk world to redeem himself and avenge his fallen master. In order to do that, He must slay the reincarnation of the demon who murdered his master, Agat.
Here’s a little more about Ronin:
Considered to be beautifully conceived, for its time (1983-84)
Katana-sharp accuracy on feudal japanese history
The first on the legendary track record of Frank Miller
Ronin details:
https://www.amazon.com/Frank-Millers-Ronin-Miller/dp/0930289218
1) Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Perhaps the highest rated cyberpunk story out of all of these highly rated cyberpunk stories, DADES takes place in January of 2021, and follows Mercenary Rick Deckard. Deckard’s job is to find Rogue androids (known as “Replicants”) and “retire” them. Only trouble with his mission is that Replicants look almost exactly like humans, and they do not want to be found.
Ah, and here’s more of this novel’s greatness:
Still considered Philip K. Dick’s greatest work
Not only was it adapted into a graphic novel, but also two highly acclaimed films
Continues to skyrocket the cyberpunk genre, and is a cross-media inspiration for games, tv shows and more.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? details:
https://www.amazon.com/Androids-Dream-Electric-Sheep-inspiration-ebook/dp/B000SEGTI0
You may also be interested in:
- Top 10 Games Like Cyberpunk 2077 (Games Better Than Cyberpunk In Their Own Way)
- The 10 Best Sci Fi RPGs To Play on PC Right Now
- Top 15 Movies Like Terminator You Need to See
- Top 17 Best Sci Fi Movies of 2018
- Best Cyberpunk Games
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